Two-year valviversary!
It's now been two quite wonderful years (minus a few challenging weeks) since my surgery. If you've been here before, please check out my two-year update. But if you're a first-time visitor, scroll down and read on.
You can write me at michael (at) wristshot (dot) net.
Thanks for visiting!
It's now been two quite wonderful years (minus a few challenging weeks) since my surgery. If you've been here before, please check out my two-year update. But if you're a first-time visitor, scroll down and read on.
Unlike the rest of the posts in this blog, which were turned out in real time, I am writing this note not on November 13, 2009, which was the day I had one of these nifty little buggers installed, but rather nearly six months later.
For those of you who faithfully followed this humble corner of the interwebs while this story was unfolding, all I've done is to reverse the order of the posts so that they now read forward in time rather than backward. You know, like a real story.
For those who are finding this site for the first time, welcome! This is, in fact, a real story -- about the days and weeks following my aortic valve replacement. The first several posts are taken from the wonderful carepages.com, which my family used to keep interested parties apprised of my condition. After I made it home, I moved those posts -- and everything that followed -- over here.
And, oh yeah, six months after all of this, I feel great.
Hi everyone,
Lori, Melanie, and Anna here, updating you on Michael's status since his surgery yesterday.
We came in today and found him eating a lunch of chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots, and grapes. He is in good humor but complains that his chest hurts. Right now, he is being moved from the cardiac ICU to the cardiac "Step-down unit."
We will post more later. Thank you for checking in.
L M A
Hello again,
We left Michael at around 7 this evening after his first post-surgery walk. He was determined to get back on his feet and, despite being exhausted, made it several feet down the hallway. It was nice for us to see him up and about, compared to how he was at the same time last night.
For those of you keeping track of the menu at the MGH, Michael had fillet of sole with green beans and shells. It didn't look too appetizing to us, but he did manage to finish all his cookies.
More tomorrow.
Melanie et al.
We arrived to find that Michael had had a bad night last night. His blood pressure had dropped, etc. He had to have a unit of blood and he had to be put on a pacemaker. He seems to be better now and is sitting up waiting to be taken on another walk. He looks like he needs a nap. Had some kind of Mexican delight for lunch. Yum.
More later.
Lori, et al.
Despite the bad night, the nurses and doctors assure us that Michael is making excellent progress. His vitals are fine now and he has taken two walks around the floor so far today.
He is trying to watch football, but keeps dozing off. Maybe he is sleeping now so he can watch Pats later!
L, M & A
Michael now has access to his cell phone and texted me to say that they may let him go home tomorrow. I'm thinking it's the drugs talking, but we will find out in a little while when we get to the hospital!
Lori & Melanie
Arrived at the hospital to find Michael having had his first shower, sitting up in his chair. He is perky and actually reading the paper, rather than just staring at the page. He is unattached from most of his tubes and wires and is eager to go home as soon as possible. He has to reach certain milestones before he can do that, so we will see.
Thanks to everyone for your good wishes. Sorry I can't get back to you personally.
Lori
Michael continues to make great progress. He says he is feeling pretty good, but tires quickly. He is still taking Percocet for the pain. We hear more and more complaints about the food, which we think is a good sign. Since he is now allowed to eat whatever he wants, we will be bringing him something more tasty tomorrow (as well as some coffee!).
His cardiologist thinks he may be able to go home on Wednesday or Thursday, at the earliest. He will have to be able to get himself into and out of bed, as well as up and down a flight of stairs, before that can happen.
All things considered, he is in pretty good spirits and appreciates your kind messages and emails.
Lori
This is an email I sent to friends and family from the hospital on Monday evening.
Hi, everyone. Just wanted to check in personally to let you know that I'm really alive and well.
If I'm not mistaken, it's Monday evening. I've had a pretty good day -- slept well until they woke me at 5 to check my vitals. (You've really got to wonder about the logic of that when the whole thing is supposed to be about healing. But, whatever.) Anyhow, I have pretty much all of my prosthetics removed -- chest tubes, pacemaker wires, etc. All I've got now is the telemetry box that monitors my heart rate. I've even managed to have a shower and learned how to clean my incision -- one swipe, top to bottom, before I clean ANYTHING else. I have to say I've definitely acquired a few new orifices in this procedure. Many of you, I'm sure, will be especially pleased to know that I even managed a number two! I now have one step to complete in order to be released -- that's climbing stairs. So generally I feel pretty good, though I'm still going heavy on the Percocet. Saturday night was not so good. As scheduled, it involved being awakened every two hours to have my vitals checked -- and as the night wore on my blood pressure and urine output dropped. All in all, I felt like crap. They ended up giving me a unit of blood which turned things around pretty quickly. My thanks to the donor! The nurse thinks I can go home tomorrow -- I think they need the beds -- but my cardiologist is in no rush to discharge me -- and Lori seems to be in no rush to have me home (it's clearly going to be a lot of work for her). So I'm guessing Wednesday but no one should be surprised it it's Thursday or Friday. Here are a few things I've learned in the last couple of days:I think that's it. Talk to you all soon.
